A Way to Win
by capricious insanity
Summary: Set three years after episode 20. A surprise changes the lives of those who need it most. Yoo Rachel/Lee Hyo Shin, Yoo Rachel/Choi Young Do.


Yoo Rachel/Hyo Shin, Yoo Rachel/Young Do.

Set Three years after the ending of episode 20.

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**A Way to Win**

By Capricious Insanity

"It's been some time, _Sister._

Without even turning, she knew immediately whose voice it was that reverberated through the hall. The soles of his shoes clacked louder as he approached the door. She looked up briefly to acknowledge him with a hint of a smile. It disappeared as soon as she resumed her attention to the designs on her desk. She was a little happy to see him, but had no time at the moment to catch up with an old friend.

"I'm busy. Go play somewhere else."

As though she had provoked him, he briskly crossed over to her and snatched the papers from her hand.

"Ya, Young Do!"

The man towered over Yoo Rachel as the petite woman stood up and reached for the document. Held high above his head, it was impossible to reach. He had grown taller, she had too, but the difference was too great to make any difference. The hotel heir simply grinned, and effortless avoided her slender limbs as they attempted to reach him.

"Looks like you're the one that wants to play."

"Young Do!"

Her face was pink from frustration. The cool expression she had earlier replaced by an intense death glare, her pink lips in a straight, unhappy line. After one last swipe at him, her white arms stopped and crossed over her chest. He brought his extremely long appendages down as well and raised a playful eyebrow at her.

"I'm not playing. Give them to me. Now."

It was a command. Not that he wasn't used to being ordered around by her, well, he didn't always listen either. But this particular tone meant she was seriously pissed off and that the next thing that came out of her mouth would hurt.

"You-"

But he cut her off before she could start.

"You have to make time for this later, okay?"

Young Do grabbed something from his coat pocket and held it to her. She eyed the small, white envelope for a second, then grabbed it away from him. Fuming, she opened it quickly, read it in a heartbeat and flicked it back to him. It lightly bounced off his chest and fell.

"Sorry, I don't want to go. you'll have to go with someone else."

The tall man scoffed at her, smirking as he looked at the invitation on the floor and then back at her. The amused look he had gave Yoo Rachel a bad feeling.

"I'm not asking you to come."

And her feeling was right. Exasperated, she looked away, breathing in as she composed herself. She was seriously thinking of slapping the life out of the annoying idiot. He held up the designs.

"You want these back? Then I'll see you later."

Her mouth opened to protest but he was out as quickly as he arrived.

"That son of a..."

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A door of a vehicle had been open for a while, letting the cold Seoul air in. It sent shivers down the woman's back, who was mulling over whether to step down or close the door and go back home. She could have another copy of the designs by tomorrow, but that would cause delay in the production. Time she couldn't afford since the company their current collection collaborated with was a very important new one.

"Damn you, Choi Young Do."

Gathering her strength was easy, it was the courage to take the step down that was hard. It's been years after all. Not as long as it felt, but she was no longer a teenager, and they were no longer part of her world. After everything that had happened after Kim Tan, she had no longer felt the need to involve herself in the social niceties of their school and only maintained the connections she knew she would need. She had fallen out of touch with everyone, except for Myung Soo. whom she saw at parties and events, and Young Do, because of their mutual business partners.

It wasn't because she now took into consideration what people beneath her said, she still didn't care what they thought of her. It was seeing her former fiancé again that made her avoid their high school classmates like cheap, disgusting perfume. Kim Tan. The only person she liked.

This was a mistake.

"Ya, Yoo Rachel!"

Just as she was about to close the door, Myung Soo walked by and approached her. She cursed inside as she managed a small, polite smile and finally stepped out of the car.

"Can you believe it? I know I can't. I was sure that Lee Bo Na and Chan Young were going to break after their first year."

Myung Soo chuckled and led the way to the club. It was on the second floor so they had to ride the lift.

"You can still steal her, couples usually break up after the third year."

She took a quick glance at him. He was still the same as ever. He had grown a tad taller, and better grades in college, but also partied a lot more.

"I can, I know. But Having her as one of my girlfriends would scare the others away."

The party boy beamed a smile at her and winked. Yoo Rachel couldn't help but laugh a little, and slightly shook her head.

"But that's a secret. You can't tell any of them if you see them again."

"What? All of them?"

They were recalling the girls he had introduced, when the elevator door opened and they got out as Myung Soo asked to keep everything a secret. Or else he would probably die.

They were in front of two long, white doors with guards on each side when he got her to nod in agreement.

"That's a promise!"

The womanizer's voice was already being drowned out by the music thundering behind the cushioned doors. It's unlikely, but she hoped he wouldn't be here. This was the last thing Yoo Rachel thought of before the doors opened and the music blasted everything else away.

"Anyway, let's go party!"

Myung Soo shouted and went in, pulling her along. The place was almost filled. There were several people from Jeguk High, some celebrities, but most of them she couldn't distinguish because of the lack of proper lighting. It looked like everyone was having fun, and soon enough her hand was free. She scanned the people for the damned hotel heir, and made her way to the crowd to inspect from the other side. Choi Young Do couldn't be found so she went to the bar to have a few drinks while she waited. She saw and talked to some of the schoolmates but kept the conversations as short as she possibly could without snapping too much.

More than an hour had passed. She had emptied a couple of glasses, and the thin giant was still nowhere in sight. She had waited long enough and fished for her phone in her bag while the people made space in the middle for the celebrated couple. Chan Young handed the microphone to his girlfriend, and the music softly drummed into the background.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to our third anniversary!"

Lee Bo Na's voice boomed through the speakers. Rachel found her phone and stopped listening to the couple's announcement. She wasn't drunk, but she was slightly tipsy so she had to concentrate to compose a text message.

_Where are you Choi Young Do? You forced me to come, but you're not even here! Give the designs back to me, now!_

Before she could send the message, she received one from the cause of her annoyance.

_Did you listen?_

"What?"

She looked at the crowd just as Lee Bo Na screamed a name she wished she would never hear again.

"Ya, Cha Eun Sang! This is my anniversary party! Not your engagement party!"

There she was. Besides Bo Na and Chan Young. And there he was, beside her.

"We should congratulate them."

Rachel turned to face Young Do behind her, who looked somber as he stared at Kim Tan and Cha Eun Sang.

"You. You knew?"

It was all she could utter as she felt the long forgotten chill that crept up inside her. The stinging numbness overwhelmed her body, and for a moment, it was all she knew. He met her eye and let her see that he felt it too.

"It's been a long time, Yoo Rachel."

The way the words slipped out of his mouth reminded her of goodbyes. So this was why. He wanted to make someone else as miserable as him. She blinked back the tears that were building up, and looked down. She saw his hands, one was holding a large envelope. Her fingers held the edge of it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Let go."

Trembling like a child, it was all she could say to not lose it right then and there.

"It's been too long for you to insist you were right."

He looked at her. Really looked at her, as though he could see through all her walls, her skin, right down to where it was aching.

"It hurts."

She looked down and pulled the envelope free as the tears she tried hard to pull back fell. Her hand dashed for her purse on the table and she headed to the exit, pushed her way through the people.

"Breathe, breathe, breathe."

Chanting helped her focus, made her body real and cooperative again. Finally out of the crowded room, the still, white lights blinded her for a moment, but she continued on to the elevator. Inside, she deftly wiped away the tears and tried to stop any more from falling. Desperately, she tried to steel her gaze on the envelope that now had small wet patches on it. But seeing them for some reason encouraged the well inside her eyes to overflow again. She looked up and saw herself in the mirrors that cushioned the steel box. It was the look she hated the most on her. Weak, fragile, and vulnerable. Even she could see the despair vivid in her eyes. The elevator dinged and her reflection parted to show a recognizable face.

"Yoo Rachel?"

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